King Cygnus
by Sehanine
Summary: Cygnus Black loved each of his daughters equally, until one of them displeased him. Loosely based on the plot of King Lear.


Written for the QLFC round 9

Team: Pride of Portree

Position: Keeper

Play: King Lear

* * *

Cygnus Black pulled out a sheet of parchment from his desk drawer and perused it. He was well aware that his life was drawing to a close, and he only had one thing left to do before he could die in peace. His will had been written and rewritten more times than he could count and he still wasn't happy with the way it distributed his wealth. Sighing, he ignited the parchment with a quick Incendio. It was time to sort this out once and for all.

Despite having no male heir to continue the family name, Cygnus was perfectly content with the children his wife had borne him. Three beautiful daughters had graced his life and he loved each of them equally. Unfortunately, he had also grown paranoid in his old age, and he worried that the affection he received from his girls was false, that they were only out to take all he had earned in life. Therefore, he had created a simple, foolproof plan to help him decide how to share his assets between Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda.

The Blacks had always prided themselves on being Pureblooded. Often they had chosen to marry incestuously rather than pollute the bloodline with unworthy suitors. Luckily, there were currently plenty of acceptable men to choose from. Cygnus shuddered at the idea of marrying off one of his beautiful daughters to the blood traitor Sirius Black now they were all of an age where they could be betrothed.

The night before his two youngest daughters were due to return to Hogwarts, Cygnus sat his children down to discuss their inheritance and his new plan for deciding how to split it.

"Girls, you may have been wondering why I have not yet found you all suitable husbands," he began. The three sisters were surprised; they had been expecting to discuss money and property, not marriage.

"It is because I have decided that you should all choose for yourselves," he said. "When you have made your decisions I will assess the suitability of your husbands. Whichever of you chooses the best match will receive the largest share of my wealth. You have until the end of the school year to present me with your choices, at which point I will arrange the betrothal on your behalf."

The girls were ecstatic, Andromeda in particular. Her father had effectively promised that she could wed whomever she chose. Admittedly, marrying the boy she was in love with would probably mean that she was sacrificing her inheritance, but that was something she could live without. She was unwilling, however, to answer her father dishonestly when he asked her whom she had chosen to marry. She simply had to hope that he would hold her happiness in higher regard than the traditions he had been raised to follow.

When Andromeda and Narcissa returned home for the summer holidays, Bellatrix greeted them at the station.

"Andy, Cissy, Father wants us to report to him as soon as we return with the names of our desired husbands." Bellatrix smirked at her sisters, truly believing there was no way either of them could have found a more suitable match than she had.

Upon arriving home, the three sisters went straight to their father's study, where they sat quivering with a combination of anticipation and nervousness.

"Well then, children," Cygnus said. "It is time for us to arrange your betrothals. Tell me, Bella dearest, who you have chosen."

"Rodolphus Lestrange," Bella said, smiling widely. The Lestranges were a prestigious Pureblooded family and the other girls would be challenged to find someone more befitting a Black.

"Well chosen, my dear," Cygnus praised her. "Narcissa, sweetheart, who have you set your sights upon?"

"Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa responded promptly, looking not at her father but at her elder sister, who had turned an unflattering shade of puce. The Malfoys were a family that was little-known a few generations before, but now had a successful empire of businesses and were very influential in the political world.

"I take it he has been receptive to your advances?" Cygnus asked. Narcissa nodded, smiling shyly. Cygnus was surprised to notice that it appeared she had chosen Lucius for more than just familial power. He turned to his final daughter, thinking that she would have to be prepared to wed either one of her cousins or Albus Dumbledore himself in order to do better than her sisters.

"Father," Andromeda began, still smiling as though she hadn't a care in the world. "I have chosen to marry neither for wealth, nor for power. I would like to marry the man I love." Cygnus frowned; Andromeda had never mentioned a boyfriend before.

"Who is he, daughter?" Cygnus asked, thinking over the young men he had heard Andromeda mention over the last couple of years. He supposed the Carrow boy had come up in conversation fairly often since Andromeda had begun tutoring him, but he had heard disturbing rumours about that family and would be hesitant to marry his daughter to one of them, despite his promise at the beginning of the year.

"His name is Ted Tonks, father," Andromeda replied, a hint of fear in her beautiful brown eyes. Tonks was not a pureblood name. Tonks was not even the name of a halfblood. That could only mean…

"You expect me to allow you to marry a Mudblood?" Cygnus roared. Narcissa and Bellatrix fled the room, unwilling to get caught up in this argument. Andromeda flinched, but held her father's steely gaze.

"You promised, Father," she said quietly. Cygnus recognised the truth in her words and realised he could not go back on his word. He did not truly wish to hurt his beloved daughter, but neither did he want the stigma that accepting her decision would cause.

"You will leave this house tonight," Cygnus said quietly. "You will marry as soon as possible, and take his name. You will not receive a single knut of your inheritance. You will have nothing to tie you to this family any longer." He paused, and looked deep into her eyes. "You will never be able to return home, and none of us will be able to visit you, for fear of ruining the reputation this family has worked so hard to achieve. If you still wish it, then you should go immediately."

The resolve in Andromeda's eyes never wavered.

"I am saddened, Father, that you cannot place my happiness above your reputation," Andromeda said. She left the house, taking nothing but her memories, bidding goodbye to the only life she had ever known.

Cygnus' brother, Alphard, served as witness to the signing of the inheritance documents. As he read over them before adding his signature he frowned.

"Cygnus, do you truly mean to cut Andromeda out completely?" Alphard asked, concern etched into his lined face.

"Yes, brother," Cygnus replied. "She has disgraced her family by uniting with that Mudblood, and she must be punished."

"Then I cannot, in all good conscience, sign this document alongside you," Alphard said. "You are making a terrible mistake here. Cissa and Bella do not deserve this, and I believe you know that already. Tradition for tradition's sake should be forsaken when competing against the genuine love of a daughter."

"If that is how you feel," Cygnus replied, grief and anger warring for dominance in his expression. "Then I am forced to disown you too. Leave my home."

Alphard left without another word, already hatching a plan. His brother may have been an idiot, blinded by pureblood ideals, but Alphard loved him nonetheless. Luckily, his nephew, Sirius Black, had recently written to him detailing an interesting and hilarious prank pulled at Hogwarts, in which Sirius and some friends had used a modified version of the polyjuice potion to turn themselves into house elves and invade the kitchens. Alphard intended to ask Sirius for some of the potion for himself, enabling him to sneak back into his brother's household in disguise as a servant. That way he would be able to watch his brother's back, despite being effectively disowned.

Cygnus divided his estate so that each of his remaining two daughters received what they most wanted. Narcissa inherited the properties and investments portfolio, nicely complimenting the business aspirations of Lucius Malfoy, who was now her fiancé. Bellatrix gained the bulk of Cygnus' monetary wealth, which she and Rodolphus Lestrange used to set up their lives away from both their families and secluded from the muggle population.

Cygnus, as agreed, remained in his ancestral home with Narcissa. Unfortunately, he soon realised that she had no desire for him to be there. She treated him as no more than another house elf, saying it was a role that suited his new status as practically destitute. Secretly, he began wishing he had listened to Alphard, and he feared that he had been too hasty in burning that particular bridge.

A few weeks after the new arrangement had usurped the old, Narcissa crossed a line. Planning ahead, she claimed, for the children she and Lucius would like to have in the future, she insisted that she would need three of the five bedrooms to be transformed into nurseries. This would not have been an issue, except she had already claimed the master suite for her own, Cynus' office for Lucius and the remaining bedroom as a guest room for Lucius, as it was improper for them to share a room before they were wed. This left Cygnus to sleep in the kitchens with the elves.

Disgusted with the attitude his once beloved daughter was displaying towards him, Cygnus made the decision to leave and stay with Bellatrix for the remainder of his life. He sent a house elf ahead to deliver a message to Bellatrix, knowing that elf apparition would not trigger the wards of the house and alert Narcissa to his plans. Unfortunately, the elf he had chosen was Alphard in disguise. His leaving utilised wizard magic, which did indeed allow Narcissa to realise that something was wrong.

Cygnus gathered his few remaining possessions at his leisure, unaware that Narcissa was watching him secretly. Once he was sufficiently prepared, he made his way to the floo. Grabbing a handful of green powder from the ornate jar above the fireplace, he stepped into the floo and travelled instantly to Lestrange Manor.

One Cygnus arrived he was met by an appalling sight. The house elf he had sent to deliver the message was cowering on the floor at his daughter's feet.

"Crucio," Bellatrix giggled, clearly enjoying the creature's torment. It writhed and screamed but she did not relent until she glimpsed her father standing in front of her fireplace.

"Bellatrix, what on earth-" Cygnus began, but was cut off by the roar of the floo behind him. When Narcissa emerged from the fireplace, Cygnus realised that his brother had been right all along. The girls were conspiring against him to keep him in his place, now that they had the material possessions they so fiercely craved.

Just as Cygnus thought it could not get any worse, a tall man strolled into the room. Lord Voldemort was well known in pureblood circles, even by those who did not precisely follow him, and Cygnus recognised him immediately. The implications of this man's arrival did not escape Cygnus; his daughters must have joined the Death Eaters. Frightened for his life, he began to apparate.

"Caecus!" Bellatrix screamed, hitting Cygnus mid-apparition with a blinding curse. Heartbroken, he collapsed on the floor at his destination: the house of Andromeda Tonks.

When Andromeda heard her father's tale anger swelled in her heart. Her sisters had gone too far, joining up with that bigoted maniac and turning on their own family. Her father may have been misguided in his morals, but he had not intentionally set out to harm her, and when he apologised she accepted it willingly.

Andromeda called a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix as soon as possible. The Order's resident healer placed Cygnus under an enchanted sleep, while she worked to remove the obscure blinding curse.

Knowing Voldemort's exact location was an advantage that the Order could not ignore. An ambush was planned for that very night, Andromeda able to lead them directly to her sister's house thanks to the apparition coordinates she had obtained from her father. Leaving Cygnus in the hands of the healer, she left to battle the Dark Lord and the two sisters she had once loved with all her heart.

The battle was long and bloody, and for a while it looked as though the Order would be able to win. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters managed to come out on top, successfully capturing Andromeda in the process. Sentenced to death by the maniac who had destroyed her world, Andromeda hoped that the Order would be able to rescue her, if only so her father could look into the eyes of the only daughter to ever truly love him one last time before he died.


End file.
